All posts tagged warriors

Arslan: The Warriors of Legend is coming out tomorrow across Europe and I would like to highlight some of the activities we had done (or I had experienced) here at Koei Tecmo.

June 2015:
The title was announced in Japan, titled ‘Arslan Senki x Musou’ for PS4 and PS3.

August 2015:
We announced Arslan: The Warriors of Legend (as an official name) with Xbox One release at Gamescom.

September 2015:
I was lucky enough to go to Tokyo Game Show. It’s my first time meeting with the producer (and the dev team) as well as the community manager from Koei Tecmo US.

October 2015:
We attended to London MCM Comic Con. Apart from Arslan: The Warriors of Legend being playable, I was very fortunate to be able to work with Reika, and the rest of the beautiful Arslan cosplay crew.

November 2015:
I visited Paris Games Week (in France), it was a day trip. I also attended to Salón del Manga de Andalucía (in Granada, Spain) as a special guest, it’s a pleasure to work with the team in Granada; I was really happy that my team approved and allowed me to bring the demo to the show as well. This was my best experience for the Arslan campaign.

January 2016:
Arslan: The Warriors of Legend was announced for PC (via Steam), which is available now.

February 2016:
I did a mini Q&A with my friend, also one of the biggest Warriors player, Rident. We talked about the game based on his experience on Warriors game, which you can read it here.

I hope you enjoy the game. As far as I’m aware, the reviews were all quite good and the Warriors fans in the US were pleased, so I wish the EU fans could feel the same tomorrow.

Rate this:

Koei’s Omega Force is known for the Dynasty Warriors game series. In recent years, not only they started to develop other games such as Bladestorm, Toukiden, they also involved in many collaboration projects based on the ‘Warriors’ engine, Hyrule Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes, to name a few.

One of the latest collaboration project which uses the ‘Warriors’ engine is Arslan: The Warriors of Legend, which is coming next week (US: February 9, EU: February 12) for the PS4, Xbox One, and also available digitally for PS3 and Steam.

I’m not going to talk about the game features with bullet points here today (as you can find those information on the official site) but I have a special guest, RidentFFXI, my friend to talk about this game with me.

We have played the PS4 demo and we both thought it’s too short as it’s just a basic tutorial, so I gave Rident an early access to the game so he can tell me his opinion about this game as a Warriors’ fan himself.

Chin:So Rident, before we start. Can you tell us which Warriors game is your most favourite?

Rident:My favourite Warriors title ever would have to be Dynasty Warriors 4 on the PS2. (I am a Warriors fan and have been for many years.)

Rident:I have watched through the first season of the series which had me pretty hooked for a few days. I haven’t read the novels though. I first caught sight of Arslan after seeing Koei Tecmo Japan was developing a anime styled game based on this novel and recently re-adapted TV series. I thought I’d want to do more research on this and decided to watch it.

Chin:What do you think about the story? Do you like it? I heard some saying that it reminds them about Dynasty Warriors, do you agree?

Rident:I can definitely draw some similarities between characters and situations in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms stories and those in The Heroic Legend of Arslan. There are a few events and battles which are relatable, most notable are those battles won through Narsus’ strategies which brings events such as The Battle of Chibi to mind.

Chin:Well, now you have played and experience the game (Arslan: The Warriors of Legend), what can you tell us about it? Do you find any differences between this game and Dynasty Warriors? Or it’s just a re-skin?

Rident:While the game has a nice anime feel to it in terms of visual style, the game play in the majority very much feels like standard Warriors formula. There are some nice new features such as the Mardān Rush which allows for some pretty epic combo chains. The dodge system is a nice change to the regular Warriors combat and works nicely with the boss battles and harder difficulties. The mini-mission system during battles was also something which I felt was quite similar to the recent Samurai Warriors titles, though I feel two timed challenges at once (especially the KO counter) gets a little frustrating at times.

The flow of the game is quite different to Dynasty Warriors titles as it is much more story focused, and instead of going to a menu/battle preparation system between each battle, the game will smoothly jump straight into story cutscenes. I think that works very well with this game and keeps it on track with the flow of the anime. Some may find it a little too story heavy however.

Chin:With so many collaboration projects from Omega Force, would you say Arslan: The Warriors of Legend is one of your most favourite?

Rident:I would definitely recommend to anyone who was a fan of the anime, and I believe it does the anime justice. I have enjoyed the likes of the One Piece: Pirate Warriors and Dynasty Warriors Gundam series, and would definitely rate Arslan: The Warriors of Legend within my top 3 collaborations based on the story campaign. I do feel it lacks some additional modes and customisation options compared with these other titles however.

Chin:Regarding the characters in Arslan: The Warriors of Legend, who is your favourite? Do the characteristics differ much from the anime version?

Rident:I am a bit of a sucker for strategists and really loved Narsus in both the anime and the game. He really reminds me of one of my favourite characters, Zhuge Liang, from Dynasty Warriors series. With the sword equipped, Narsus does act more similar to his anime counterpart in battle and he definitely mirrors in characteristics within the story scenes. I do have many more characters to unlock and try out in the game still.

Chin:Does this game meet your expectation?

Rident:Having followed the game and watching gameplay videos since the marketing began in Japan, I can say in terms of game play it has matched my expectations. The way the story is told has slightly exceeded expectations and feels much like an anime. Content-wise I feel it lacks a bit with few modes and not a lot of customisation available other than the Skill Cards system, which is pretty good.

Chin:Any ‘wow’ factor? Don’t worry, you can be honest to even say no.

Rident:Whether it is due to the fact I know the story well, having watched the anime recently or I having played/seen demos leading up to release, the game has not given me any real ‘wow’ factor. There may be something to come however once I progress deeper into the story.

Chin:Now if you can suggest one thing for the game to improve, what would it be?

Rident:What I would suggest mainly for an improvement, is for more modes beyond Story and Free Mode. Maybe some kind of challenge mode. I feel based on recent Warriors title releases, it lacks on that front in order to retain replayability.

As a Warriors fan, I think Arslan: The Warriors of Legend is great fun to play, and I love the story.

Chin: Thank you!

I hope you find our conversation useful here. There will be reviews coming from media next week but I think it’s better to get the opinion from a knowledgeable Warriors’ fan. Thanks for reading!

Rate this:

Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper is coming to Nintendo Wii U this end of month (November 30th) across Europe, and not forget to mention about North America, it would be November 18th in the states. We have shown the game at the London MCM Expo a week ago and I had received a lot of good feedbacks (well apart from the comments regarding the extra content being on the Wii U console). I believe the content was created to celebrate the launch of Wii U, I haven’t heard anything about it being available on both PS3 and Xbox 360 as a DLC at all yet.

For those who are familiar with Warriors Orochi franchises, you should know this game features a huge cast of playable characters (more than 130 playable characters from the worlds of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors). As the vortex created by Orochi drags a few more allies to their universe so the characters such as Ryu Hayabusa (from Ninja Gaiden series), Achilles (from Warriors: Legends of Troy), Joan of Arc (from Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War), Nemea (from Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll), and Ayane (from Dead or Alive series) have also been added as playable characters in the roster list!

In Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, the team has included 4 characters, Rachel (from Ninja Gaiden series) and Seimei Abe (Rachel and Seimei were added from the PSP version of Warriors Orochi 3 in Japan); and exclusive new characters Momiji (from the Ninja Gaiden series) and Shennong (Momiji and Shennong are brand new additions) to the Orochi roster.

Another new addition is the “Duel Mode” which fuses elements of player versus player and card battles into intense combat for player vs. COM battles, or online battles against your friends. With Wii U GamePad, you can choose from two ways to play local two player co-op. Play using the TV and the GamePad screen, or play using standard split screen on your TV.

You can also unlock abilities and influence the storyline through the bond system: The bonds between characters can be increased by interaction in banquets, fighting together as allies, rescuing struggling allies, and accepting then clearing missions in battles. These bonds can influence the storyline, as well as unlock extra attacks and new stages.

Apart from that, you can customize scenarios and share them online for all to enjoy: Cleared stages from Story Mode or Free Mode can be edited to create unique battlefields, where players can change voice lines and characters, acquire Musou Battlefield Elements in Story Mode and use them to add even more interesting new aspects to their original battlefields. Then rate scenarios created by others and see how your scenarios stack up.

I have included the gameplay videos of the 4 new characters which I love all of them equally (but extra love to Momiji because she has been my favourite since Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2).

For more information, you can visit the official site @ warriorsorochi.co.uk/3/hyper/ – Also, thank you for coming to visit me at London MCM Expo! It was really good to see you there, especially the fans I’ve known since they were young like 14 years and now they’re over 18, it’s like watching my babies growing; but yeah, you have made it!

Also, I’ve been interviewed by Digitally Downloaded regarding the community I’ve been in charge. If you’re interested, check the article out here.

———————————WEAPON PACK (PS3 & Xbox 360)
———————————
Release Date: April 10 (US), April 11 (EU)
Price: $1.99 / €1.99 / £1.59 / 160 MSP
– New weapons for Ma Chao, Hanbei Takenaka, Kaguya and Shuten Doji will be made available. In Story or Free Mode, go to the Camp. Then select one of the four characters under Preparations. The new weapon can be equipped through Special Weapon.

———————————SAMURAI COSTUME (PS3 & Xbox 360)
———————————
Release Date: April 24 (US), April 25 (EU)
Price: $0.99 / €0.99 / £0.79
– New costumes will be available for selection for 31 characters. The new costumes are for all characters from “Samurai 1” and “Samurai 2”, and for Gracia and Katsuie Shibata only from “Samurai 3”. At Select Team, choose any of the 31 characters and select Change Costume.

———————————WALLPAPERS 1 (PS3 & Xbox 360)
———————————
Release Date: April 24 (US), April 25 (EU)
Price: $3.99 / €3.99 / £3.19
– New wallpapers will be available for all 43 characters from “Samurai 1”, “Samurai 2” and “Samurai 3”. Select Wallpaper in the Gallery. Wallpaper for any of these characters that have been used in-game will be available to view, or to set as wallpaper. 172 wallpapers in total.

Rate this:

Just want to let you know that Warriors Orochi 3 is now available in US (PlayStation 3 version) via digital download only. For the Xbox 360 version in US, it’s coming on March 27, 2012 in stores. This means if you’re a PlayStation 3 user, you can get the game on PlayStation Network now, but you’ll not be able to get the physical copy though. For Xbox 360 users, you can get your physical copy in stores. This is for US. In Europe, Warriors Orochi 3 will be available and hit retail stores on April 6, 2012 for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This means, if you have either PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360 consoles, you can get the physical copies of the game in stores on April 6, 2012.

Sorry for a little confusion. I’ve blogged a lot of features of Warriors Orochi 3 in the old blog posts, you can check them in the archives. If you want to know more information about Warriors Orochi 3, you can visit the official site @ http://bit.ly/warriorsorochi3 – Also, don’t forget to watch this launch trailer which we’ll be start promoting it very soon. Yes, you get this first – and I know it’s late.

Please disregard the Japanese text there, as the game will be in English subtitles (English only, no French, German, Italy and Spanish though), also the game will be in Japanese dubs so for those who love Japanese voice-over, you’ll love this!

Rate this:

This is probably the last blog article regarding Warriors Orochi 3 gameplay explanations. I believe all Warriors fans already know so this article will be mainly focusing on the new audience or to those who are still quite new to the Warriors Orochi franchise as you might miss out some of the attacks that you might not know before! So today, I’m going to talk about the various “attacks” you can have in Warriors Orochi 3. I’ll skip the explanation of Normal Attack, Dash Attack, Charge Attack and Jump Charge Attack because you will know it when you have the game. I’ll explain this in the reference of PS3 controller.

Counterattack
– If you are attacked by the enemy while blocking by holding down L1 button, and press Square just as you block the enemy’s attack, you can knock the enemy back with a Counterattack. If the bonds between the officer you are controlling and his/her teammates are at their maximum level, the inactive officers may follow-up your attacks with one of their own.

EX Attack
– You might know this from Dynasty Warriors 7. For officers that have EX Attacks, you can follow up specific Charge Attacks with an EX Attack, thereby executing an additional special attack. The contents of the attack will differ by officer. You can confirm whether or not your offi cer has an EX Attack as well as the controls for it by checking Move Test under the Team Info menu.

———————————————–

Musou Attack
– If you press Circle button while your Musou Gauge is full, you will perform an extremely powerful special attack and will be invincible while performing it. Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors characters have their own unique versions of the Musou Attack.
– A Dynasty Warriors character’s Musou Attack will consume a set amount of the Musou Gauge, while a Samurai Warriors character’s Musou Attack will consume the entire gauge.
– You can refill your Musou Gauge by holding down Circle button, picking up Wine or Hua Tuo’s Ointment, or by switching the officer to inactive status.

True Musou Attack
– If you perform a Musou Attack when your Health Gauge is low and colored red, you will perform an even more powerful attack than normal. Additionally, a Fire attribute will be added to your attack.

Multi Musou Attack
– If you are playing with two players and there is an electrical charge linking both players and you both perform a Musou Attack at roughly the same time, then you will perform an even more powerful attack than normal. Additionally, a Fire elemental will be added to your attack.
– You can also perform the attack with allied NPC officers when the bonds between your player character and the NPC are at maximum.

*Differences between the Musou Attacks for Dynasty and Samurai Warriors
– Dynasty Warriors: By pressing Circle button, you will perform a powerful attack. You are unable to perform any other actions until the move is finished.
– Samurai Warriors: By pressing and holding down Circle button, you will perform a powerful attack. If you release the button, then you will be free to perform other actions.

———————————————–

Special Attacks
– You can press R1 button to perform a special maneuver unique to your offi cer’s attack category. You can also use the move while being attacked by the enemy. It will consume a portion of the Musou Gauge.
– There are four attack categories: Power, Speed, Technique and Wonder.

———————————————–

Support Attack
– If you switch characters with L2 or R2 button immediately after landing an attack, you can follow up with another attack from one of your support characters. This attack will use a portion of the Musou Gauge (Switch Combo).
– When you have a support character with a full Musou Gauge, you can press L2 or R2 button while being attacked and your support character will appear and knock back the surrounding enemies. This attack will use a portion of the Musou Gauge. If the bonds between the officer you are controlling and your support characters
are high, then they may sometimes automatically come to your assistance. If so, it will not consume the Musou Gauge.

———————————————–

True Triple Attack
– If you press L2 and R2 buttons at the same time when your True Triple Attack Gauge is full, you will enter True Triple Attack Mode. You can fill the True Triple Attack Gauge by attacking enemies. If you use Switch Combos or Support Attacks, then the gauge will fill even faster.
– Once you are in True Triple Attack Mode, your supporting characters will come to join your playable character and will attack any enemies in the area. You will remain in True Triple Attack Mode until the True Triple Attack Gauge is empty.
– When your True Triple Attack Gauge runs out, your three team members will perform a finishing move. All of the enemies that you touched while in True Triple Attack Mode will be attacked with a powerful finishing attack.
– Enemies defeated by a True Triple Attack will leave gems. You will automatically pick up the gems that are dropped. Sometimes, you may also obtain rare crystals.

*Skills & Attributes
During battle, you can obtain various benefits from an offi cer’s Skill and attributes affixed to their weapon.
– Officer Skills: Each officer has their own unique Skill. The effects of the Skill will apply to all of the members of your team. During battle, you can receive the effects of all the Skills your team possesses. You can confirm the details of each Skill by going to the Team Info section of the Pause Menu.
– Weapon Attributes: If you equip a weapon that has an attribute, then you will be able to have that attribute added to attacks such as certain Charge Attacks. By going to the Weapons Dealer within the Camp, and selecting Weapon Fusion, you can add new or strengthen existing attributes on your weapon.

Today I’ll be talking about the crossover characters in Warriors Orochi 3, as well as showcasing their moves and music themes. They are Ryu Hayabusa (from Ninja Gaiden series), Joan of Arc (from Bladestorm: The Hundred Years’ War), Achilles (from Warriors: Legends of Troy), Ayane (from Dead or Alive series) and Nemea (from Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll).

Ryu Hayabusa– A young member of the Hayabusa ninja clan, and heir to the Dragon lineage. While battling the forces of evil with the legendary Dragon Sword, he was suddenly dragged into fissure in time and space which appeared at the same time as the Hydra. But even in this alternate universe, he continues his fight against evil.

———————————————–

Joan of Arc– Maid of Orleans, and national heroine of France. A kind young woman with a strong sense of justice, she vowed to stand up and fight for the people in France in the Hundred Years’ War. On the field of battle, she saw a unit of her forces sucked into the rift in time and space, and in an attempt to rescue them, she too was transported to this alternate universe.

———————————————–

Achilles– The mightiest solder in the Greek Army, feared by enemies and allies alike. Struck by an enemy arrow during the Trojan War and on the verge of death, he strumbled into the fissure in time and space engendered simultaneously with appearance of the Hydra, and found himself transported to the battlefield of Nanzhong.

———————————————–

Ayane– Brilliant ninja of the Hajinmon sect, a secretive branch of the Mugen Tenshin clan. While pursuing an enemy after blowing up the DOATEC Tri-Tower at the end of the 4th Dead or Alive Tournament, Ayane is suddenly transported to this alternate universe through a warp in time and space.

———————————————–

Nemea– An adventurer who came to fame after defeating the Dark Knights of Vyashion. After inadvertently falling into an interdimensional rift, he has devoted himself stoically to opposing evil in this alternate universe as well.

———————————————–

Warriors Orochi 3 is coming out in US on March 20, 2012 and EU on March 30, 2012. This game is for both PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. No plan for PlayStation 2 or PC releases.